Hat holders



Dec. 28, 1965 G. l.. HAMLlN 3,226,156

HAT HOLDERS Filed Dec. 18, 1964 United States Patent 3,226,156 HAT HLDERS Guather L. Hamlin, 1623 S. Homan Ave., Chicago, Ill. Filed Dec. 13, 1964, Ser. N0. 419,545 Claims. (Cl. 297-191) The invention relates to hat holders, adapted primarily for installation on vehicle front seat backs, but capable of being installed elsewhere, as on furniture backs and the like.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of efficient, convenient, inexpensive, and easily installed devices of the kind indicated, which, in the case of vehicle installation, can be readily adjusted to hold hats against the front sides of seat backs or suspended at the rear sides thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of devices of the character indicated above which have beaded chain loops which are readily adjustable to embrace and hold securely different sizes of hat crowns and have pockets into which the loops are adapted to be stored while not in use.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective View showing a device of the invention installed on a vehicle front seat back, and holding a crowned hat;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of said device, per se;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a roller;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section showing the roller in use, in another form of device of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a view, like FIGURE 5, showing a further form of device of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and first to FIG- URES 1 to 3 thereof, the device 10 therein shown, comprises an elongated uniform width strip 12 of flexible material, preferably of a color matching or complementing the color of a vehicle front seat folding seat back B. The strip 12 can be made of any suitable material, gross grain ribbon being preferred.

The seat back B has a front surface 14, a rear surface 16, a top edge 18, and a bottom edge 20, the strip 12 being of such a length that it provides a middle portion 22, of the same length as the width of the seat back top edge 18, and front and rear portions 24, 26, respectively, which are at least long enough to reach to the bottom edge of the back B. Safety pins 28 are passed through the material of the strip, crosswise, at their lower ends, and through the material of the front and rear surfaces of the back B, after the strip has been draped over the top edge 18 of the back, as shown in FIGURE 1. This manner of installation applies where the bottom edge 20 of the back B has little or no clearance with the upper surface 30 of the associated seat S.

The middle portion 22 of the strip 12 has a longitudinally elongated closed pocket 32 secured upon its upper surface. The pocket 32 is preferably composed of a length of the same material as the strip 12, and is sewed, or otherwise suitably secured, around its edges, to the middle portion 22, on lines set in from the side edges and the ends of the middle portion, as indicated at 34, so that the pocket 32 bulges upwardly away from the middle portion 22, as shown in FIGURE 3, to provide space for portions of a beaded chain 36.

The wall 38 of the pocket 32 is provided, adjacent to its ends, with similar front and rear holes 40 and 42, respectively. Plastic or other suitable material grommets 44 are secured through the holes 40, 42, with their upper and lower flanges 46 and 48, respectively, spaced from the Patented Dec. 28, 1965 ICC related sides of the wail 38 of the pocket 32. Cardboard or other suitable material washers 50, 52 are circumposed on the stems 54 of the grommets, in order to take up the spaces between the grommet anges and the end wall 38 of the pocket, and in order to reinforce the material of the wall around the holes. The openings 56 of the grommets are provided only large enough to pass two side-byside strands of the beaded chain 36, for the purpose of making frictional contact therewith for position retention, and for the purpose of forming, as shown in FIGURE 2, a stop loop 58, at the front end of the pocket 32 when the chain 36 is pulled to the limit to the rear.

The chain 36 is passed upwardly through the grommets 44 before the pocket wall 38 is secured in place, with the ends of the chain outside of the pocket 32, and the ends are secured together by means of a conventional beaded chain coupler S9.

A closure ring 60 is slidably circumposed on the strands of the rear hat-holding chain loop 62, as shown in FIG- URE 2, so that when this loop is suspended at the rear of the seat back B, the closure ring 60 is adapted to be run down the loop so as to contact the loop around the crown of a hat for securely holding the hat. The presence of the closure ring on the chain 36 does not interfere with the chain being pulled forwardly to form a front hat-holding loop 64, as shown in FIGURE 1.

In the arrangement shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, wherein the bottom edge 20 of the seat back B is fiat and is spaced upwardly from the seat S, the lower part of the front -portion 24 of the strip 12 is rolled upon a cylindrical member 66, larger in diameter than the space between the seat and the lower edge of the back B, as indicated at 68, and forced into the forward part of the space. The rear portion 26 of the strip 12 is then brought forwardly beneath the back edge 20 and pinned thereto, by means of a safety pin 28.

In the arrangement shown in FIGURE 6, wherein the lower edge 20 of the seat back is convex and is substantially spaced above the seat S, the lower ends of the front and rear strip portions are simply overlapped, as indicated at 70, and then secured together and to the lower edge of the seat back with a safety pin 28.

A chain storage pocket 72, made of the same material of the strip 12, is sewed or otherwise suitably secured, at its lower end and along its sides, as indicated at 74, at points spaced from the related edges of the rear portion 26 of the strip, at a location near to but spaced downwardly from the middle portion 22 of the strip. The rear chain loop 62 is adapted to be placed in the pocket 72, when not in use.

What is claimed is:

1. A hat holder comprising an elongated closed pocket having a top wall, said top wall being formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced holes, a continuous chain longer than the pocket, said chain having an intermediate portion lying along and enclosed in the pocket, said chain having first and second hat-holding loop forming end portions extending out of the pocket holes from the opposite ends of said intermediate portion of the chain with one or which at a time the crown of a hat is adapted to be supportably engaged, and means for securing the pocket to a support.

2. A hat holder according to claim 1, wherein the chain is adapted to be pulled in opposite directions to form a hat-holding loop at one end of the pocket, and a smaller stop loop at the Iother end of the pocket engaged with the pocket top wall.

3. A hat holder comprising an elongated strip of flexible material, said strip having a middle portion and front and rear portions extending from opposite ends of the middle portion, a longitudinally elongated closed chain pocket secured upon the middle portion, a wall of the pocket being formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced holes, an endless chain having an intermediate portion contained in the pocket and extending lengthwise thereof, said chain having front and rear hat-holding loop forming portions extending slidably through the pocket wall holes, and mounting means on at least one of the portions of the strip other than its middle portion.

4. A hat holder according to claim 3, wherein grommets are secured in holes of the chain pocket wall through which the loop forming portions of the chain extend.

5. A hat holder according to claim 3, wherein one of the loop forming portions has a closure ring slidably circumposed thereon.

6. A hat holder according to claim 3, wherein one yot said front and rear strip portions has a chain storage pocket on its outer side near its upper end, into which a loop forming portion of the chain is adapted to be stored.

7. In combination, a vehicle seat having an upstanding seat back thereon, the back having a lower edge, a top edge, and front and rear surfaces, the seat having an upper surface underlying the lower edge of the back, a hat holder comprising an elongated strip of flexible material, said strip having a middle portion as long as the width of said top edge and engaged therewith, said strip having a front portion engaged with the front surface ot the back and reaching at least to said lower edge, and a rear portion reaching at least to said lower edge, means on the front and rear portions at their lower ends for securing these portions to the seat back.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said securing means comprises safety pins secured to the front :and rear surfaces of the seat back.

9. The combination of claim 7, wherein the lower edge of the seat back is at and is closely spaced from the upper surface of the seat, said securing means comprising a cylindrical member larger in diameter than the space between the upper surface of the seat and the lower edge of the back, the lower part of the front portion of the strip being rolled on said member and it and the member forced rearwardly between the seat and the lower edge of the back, said securing means tfurther comprising a safety pin at the lower end of the rear portion of the strip secured to the lower edge of the seat back.

10. The combination of claim 7, wherein the lower edge of the seat back is convex and is spaced upwardly from the seat, said securing means comprising overlapped lower end portions of the front :and rear .portions of the strip, and a safety pin secured through the overlapped end portions and to the lower edge of the seat back.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 13.114,210 4/1939 Hofman 206s8 15,931 10/1856 Mins 297-190 799,308 9/1905 Davis 211-32 1,083,491 1/1914 Herzberg 211*52 x 1,511,864 10/1924 Aitmeyer 211-31 1,567,619 12/1925 Rodsin 211-51 1,645,478 10/1927 Gibson 211-31 2,781,113 2/1957 seeman 190-60 2,888,063 5/1959 Rose 2974-887 2,998,008 8/1961 Kiesa 297-385 X FOREIGN PATENTS 554,239 3/1958 Canada. 464,718 l/l9l4 France.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HAT HOLDER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CLOSED POCKET HAVING A TOP WALL, SAID TOP WALL BEING FORMED WITH A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED HOLES, A CONTINUOUS CHAIN LONGER THAN THE POCKET, SAID CHAIN HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION LYING ALONG AND ENCLOSED IN THE POCKET, SAID CHAIN HAVING FIRST AND SECOND HAT-HOLDING LOOP FORMING END PORTIONS EXTENDING OUT OF THE POCKET HOLES FROM THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID INTERMEDAITE PORTION OF THE CHAIN WITH ONE OF WHICH AT A TIME THE CROWN OF A HAT IS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTABLY ENGAGED AND MEANS FOR SECURING THE POCKET TO A SUPPORT. 